


Ferret Tragedy

by havisham



Category: Return to Night - Mary Renault
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Bad fanart, Deliberate Badfic, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 03:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3634821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/havisham/pseuds/havisham
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Julian loves his ferrets. But does he love his mother more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Naraht](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naraht/gifts).



> SO I HERD U LIKED FERRETS. I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE SO I HOPE I GOT IT RIGHT LOL. 
> 
> [The 'illustration' consists of a pretty obnoxious flashing gif.]

The ferrets told Julian that they had a secret to tell him.

They often had secrets to share with him, because Julian was the only boy in the whole of Gloucestershire who could understand weaseltongue, mostly because no one else ever bothered to speak to ferrets or weasels or pole-cats. But Julian did, because he had no other friends and no one else would speak to him except his mother. He didn't understand why and when he asked his mother, she had turned her face away and told him not to be a fool, and reminded him that he almost a man now.

It was true, Julian was almost a man now. He had just celebrated his eleventh birthday and expected his letter from Hogwarts to come any day.

He was telling the ferrets about Hogwarts and his worries about getting into the wrong house. Mother had been in Hufflepuff, so _that_ was all right, but Father hadn't gone to Hogwarts at all, being a Muggle and Julian worried that he would be teased over it. But what if Julian was neither ambitious enough to get into Slytherin nor clever enough to be in Ravenclaw or brave enough for Gryffindor or loyal enough for Hugflepuff?/p >

What if his letter got lost in the post? What would Mother do without **her** Julian? What would **_She_** DO???

Julian began to pull grass from the ground and tear them into little pieces. The ferret with the white paws sniffed at the pieces of grass in Julian's hand but then lost interest.

"All right," said the ferret with a brown spot on the top of his head. "Calm down boy, I have somethign to tell you."

"Okay," said Julian. "I'm ready."

"The cat who rides in the postmaster's cart says that there was a letter for you from Hogwarts. The postman gave it to your mother. And also Mister Robinson from the village is having an affair with the butcher's wife. "

"I don't even know who Mr. Robinson is," Julian said as he gathered up White Paw and Brown Spot up and gave them one last cuddle. he put them back into their cages and ran all the way back to to the house.

"Mother! Mother! Has a letter come for me?" Julian shouted as soon as he came in through the front door even though shouting in the house was not allowed.

Mother appeared from the the kitchen door. "Julian," she said coldly, "you know that we do not shout in the house."

"I'm sorry Mother, I will not do it again. Has a letter come for me from Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Mother said. "I will tell you about it after supper. Now go and wash."

Julian did what he was told.

After a supper of cold boiled things, Mother took out the letter from her pocket.

"Julian," she said, "I'm afriad this is some bad news. It says here that you do not have enough magic to go to Hogwarts. You will go to your father's Muggle boarding school and never tell anyone about the wizarding world or magic or else the very worst will happen to both you and I. Do you understand, Julian?"

"Yes, Mother." Julian looked down and tried not to cry.

"Don't cry," Mother said. "It is disgusting to see a man cry."

"I know, Mother."

"I have also instructed a man from the village to come and take your ferrets. You cannot have magical ferrets when you are not a magical boy."

"But they are my only friends!!" cried Julian.

You don't need friends when you have your mother," his mother replied with a secretive sort of smile. "Or do you love those ferrets more than you love me?"

"I love you more than anything," Julian said, and tried to embrace his mother. She pushed him away, and said he ought clean up his face, which was flushed and red and sticky. 

Julian did what he was told. 

*

That night when he was sure Mother was asleep in bed, Julian snuck out of the house and ran bare-foot to the barn where the ferrets were kept. He undid the lock and took White Paw and Brown Spot out of their cages and told them that they were free. 

"Free?" White Paw sniffing the air, "what is freedom?" 

"We don't have time to get into that right now," Julian said, "The main thing is that Mother is going to have you killed and I am setting you free instead." 

"Thank you, Julian," said Brown Spot. "We will not not forget this favor." 

"Go," Julian said, settign them on the ground. He watched as they run off into the dark woods. 

*

The next few years, farmers in the area complained that someone or something was eating all of their eggs and some of their chickens. All attempts to catch the culprit failed. 

*

Hilary turned her head and frowned. She could have shown that she had heard a faint skittering against the windowpane. Could it be rats? She had to talk to Lisa about that. Now, she turned back the thought on what to do with that strange Fleming boy. There was something rather uncanny about him... 


	2. Chapter 2

  
  



End file.
